McMINNVILLE — Ad Rutschman lives in the same McMinnville ranch-style house he and wife Joan have owned since 1972.
Though 84, the patriarch of Linfield football still mows the grass, and waits for leaves to drop from six fruit trees so he can get about the business of fall raking.
Rutschman says he's in good health, and stays in shape with four or five half-hour walks each week.
What also keeps the most successful coach in Linfield football history mentally and physically fit is something he's done for more than six decades. Three afternoons each week during the football season, Rutschman drives to Linfield's campus, meets with the Wildcats for practice and coaches the kickoff return team.
"I'm a strong believer that if you don't use it, you lose it. It keeps my mind active," said Rutschman, 183-48-3 over a 24-year career that includes NAIA national titles in 1982, 1984 and 1986.
Rutschman retired as Linfield's head coach in 1991, but he's never really walked away from football. He has served in various coaching capacities at many high schools during the past two decades, and in 2001, was talked into coaching the Wildcats' kickoff return by then-Linfield coach Jay Locey.
It's a task Rutschman immensely enjoys. For 20 minutes in the locker room and 15 minutes on the field, Rutschman is back in his element. Though Rutschman admits his energy level isn't what it once was, he still packs a coaching punch.
On a recent Tuesday afternoon, for example, with rain coming down in sheets, there was Rutschman, seen sprinting 30 yards to correct something he observed in the kickoff return session.
"He's still got the fire in him," said sophomore linebacker Jason Farlow, a member of the kickoff return team. "He still wants every single kickoff return to run perfectly."
Farlow, who comes from Southern California, hadn't heard of Rutschman — a 1998 College Football Hall of Fame inductee — until arriving on campus two years ago.
Farlow has since learned about Rutschman's meaning to Linfield, and has come to immensely respect that he continues to give back to the Wildcats' football program.
"It's insane. His calves are ginormous. He's still out there, active," Farlow said. "He already gave so much to this place and he still wants us to be successful."
Rutschman's return to Linfield coaching came about when Locey wanted to add Rutschman's knowledge and style to the program.
Current coach Joseph Smith said it took a bit of arm twisting and time to convince Rutschman he was wanted, but once Rutschman began coaching the kickoff return team, he was all in.
"I want him with us so our young players get to meet him and be around someone of his wisdom and know the person of Coach Rutschman. I want them to get a sense of his intensity and humor. He's really fun to play for," said Smith, a Linfield defensive back from 1989-92.
"You can tell when someone has that 'it' factor, and he does."
The current Wildcats get a mellower version of Rutschman.
"It's insane. His calves are ginormous. He's still out there, active.
"He doesn't yell like 30 years ago, when I was playing for him, but he holds guys accountable and expects great effort," Smith said.
Rutschman spends the early part of the week scouting the opponent's kickoff team by watching Hudl, an online website where teams and players store game video. That can be an ordeal in itself, as Rutschman says "my computer skills are zero." He still longs for the day when games were watched on 16-millimeter film.
On this particular Tuesday, Rutschman met with the kickoff return squad about 20 minutes before practice, to go over the game plan and things he believes need improving.
Rutschman carries a yellow legal pad with detailed notes, using multi-colored pens. The pre-practice meetings are a team effort.
"He doesn't know the tech stuff. It's pretty funny sometimes. We're watching Hudl, and he'll say, can you get this to go? Or stop that there, hold it there. He doesn't know how to use all the remotes," Farlow said.
Rutschman attends practice on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday for the time he's needed, and when Linfield plays at home, meets with the team Saturday morning to help reinforce the game plan.
During the game, though, Rutschman knows his place. He's not a coach, just a fan, who sits below the press box at Maxwell Field.
"I try to be a spectator and not a coach, except I'm thinking about things, different plays and adjustments," said Rutschman, "but I'm not very serious about it."
It's been 24 years since Rutschman ran Linfield's program, and yet it continues to thrive at a high level.
Since Rutschman left in 1991, coaches Ed Langsdorf, Locey and Smith are a combined 207-44-1.
Make no mistake: Rutschman is happy about the scoreboard results. But what makes him most proud is that Linfield football continues a tradition of developing relationships and turning out future success stories. If you have any question that Rutschman remains mentally sharp, just get him talking about education.
"If it's done right, I think I've had the best classroom going for what I call success skills. I will argue that with anybody at the university," Rutschman said.
"I hope every one of our kids believes they're a better person for being a part of our program." As for his part-time coaching career, at 84, Rutschman is year-to-year. But he has no plans to step away any time soon.
Asked if he'll keep coaching until they put him six feet under, Rutschman laughs.
"I hope doing this," he says, "prevents that."
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See Oregonian story (text above) and photos at this URL link:
http://www.oregonlive.com/collegefootball/index.ssf/2015/11/ad_rutschman_is_84_and_still_m.html#incart_river_home
See the photo posted (from 1982 season) here and others by Wildcatville at this URL link:
http://wildcatville.blogspot.com/2010/05/photographs-from-wildcatville-archives.html
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Two photos by Wildcatville. One from 1982, Linfield Football
Coach Ad Rutschman with Wildcat
player Mike McAllister after Linfield beat William Jewell (Mo.) 33-15 at McMinnville
High School’s Wortman Stadium for the NAIA Division II national football
championship. Game was held Sat., Dec. 11, 1982. Other photo from 2015, sitting in Linfield’s
Memorial Stadium before a Linfield football game on Sat., Nov. 21, 2015, Ad Rutschman holds an Oregonian Nov. 21, 2015, sports section
which includes an article about him headlined “A Hall of Famer, but still a
coach.” Article written by freelancer Nick Daschel. Headline for online version
of article reads, “Ad Rutschman is 84, and still making a difference with
Linfield football.”
